"Hello Siegfried."
I was currently at Rota international airport, which consisted of an entire one terminal.
The Eye of the Deep site was located 104 nautical miles away, about 192 km.
"Are you sure you weren't tracked by Schicksal?" Siegfried asked.
"I mean, I was probably logged, but whether someone is actually checking up on my location is another thing entirely," I responded. "It's not like Rota has anything going for it. I'm officially on a beach vacation." I flashed a peace sign.
Which was true. This technically counted as vacation time, not mission time, though Otto assured me that I would be compensated for the days I lost.
Not that I was short on vacation days, but it was the principle of the matter.
I'd actually had to do my job for the last two years, which mostly involved Otto pointing me at a group of random Honkai beasts, me spending three to four hours flying there, one-shotting them all in about thirty seconds, and then spending another three to four hours returning, or reading over reports from the Lunar Outpost on discoveries, and looking through the seemingly almost infinite database housed within the Second Divine Key with the help of Shamash.
I wondered if this was how Fu Hua felt, flying on a sword for hours just to take out one low-ranked Honkai beast in some faraway village.
"Miss Lee, I don't mean to challenge you, but you are one of Schicksal's top Valkyries. There are undoubtedly many people aware of your location," Welt Yang said, wearing his signature scarf.
"Well, then we just have to hurry it up then, it's around 2 hours by boat, plus however long it takes to descend. I didn't bring a vehicle, that would only raise suspicion."
"I hope you're really prepared to leave Schicksal this time," Welt warned. "After this, there won't be any way of going back."
"Well, if everyone's dead, that would kinda suck," I replied.
"I've seen what ancestor Kevin is capable of. If he really plans on doing what you said…" Siegfried spoke up. "I understand why you requested our help."
Actually I just requested Welt's help, you just came along because you felt like it.
"Tesla and Einstein did some digging into the Previous Era's S.A.V.E. projects. It seems legitimate," Welt added for my benefit.
"Well, I checked about five minutes ago, and the next experiment starts in about two hours, so we better hurry," I noted.
"That almost certainly drew attention." Welt noted.
"It's not like anyone can get there faster than us in a vehicle capable of reaching the Deep. So we better hurry," I replied.
It somehow slipped my mind to inform them that Durandal and Rita were already at the Eye of the Deep.
Making our way from the airport to the east harbor, the island was almost deserted. Only four people were visible during the (very short) trip to the other side.
At the dock, Welt extended his arm, and a medium-sized boat materialized out of thin air.
"What is the top speed?"
"This boat has been modified with a Honkai engine. Its top speed is one hundred seventy kilometers per hour."
"That's around an hour and fifteen minutes, then?"
"Correct. Diving will add about thirty-five minutes. None of us need to worry much about the pressure," Welt said.
"We better get going, then," I noted.
Hopefully, the microphones scattered around the dock picked that up, and the fact that Siegfried was here.
Climbing aboard, Welt went to the controls and activated the autopilot. (Yes, it's still called an autopilot since the driver of a boat is also called a pilot.)
I sat down, surprised at how fast the boat accelerated, pushing me back into the seat.
"So, after the Eye of the Deep is activated, there's no way to stop it. If it's already active when we arrive, the only way to stop Kevin is to enter the Sea of Quanta and stop him on the other side. We can't let him return to the real world. As a MANTIS, he's much weaker there because Honkai Energy is extremely rare in the Sea of Quanta. If he manages to get through the portal, he can start absorbing Honkai Energy from Earth, becoming much stronger," I explained.
"The activation is two hours from now?" Siegfried asked.
"Yes. The activation is scheduled for 2:30." I confirmed.
"We better hurry, then," Welt said with a frown.
The plan was simple, even with Siegfried present.
When we arrived, the activation sequence would begin. Durandal and Rita would attack me, and I would tell Welt to enter the Sea of Quanta to stop Kevin while I stalled them. Welt would run into the Sea of Quanta, and I would close the portal by converting the energy powering it, causing it to shut within four seconds, hopefully before Kevin came through.
Besides Durandal and Rita, everyone else there were scientists and technicians, seven in total, needed to activate the Eye of the Deep. I knew Welt wouldn't target them. As for Siegfried… they'd be fine.
With Siegfried here, the plan was the same, except he'd join Welt in the Sea of Quanta.
I needed to reclaim Judgement of Shamash before he entered the portal.
Otherwise whoever entered the Sea of Quanta next (Bronya) would face a fully operational Kevin armed with his signature weapon.
Lucky for me, the core of Judgement of Shamash wasn't like the Herrscher gems, in that it didn't have an intact imaginary singularity, so Kevin couldn't draw infinite Honkai Energy from it, powering him up enough to escape. Still, it was better not to risk it.
"Siegfried, do you plan on using Judgement of Shamash?" I asked.
"Why wouldn't I?" Siegfried looked confused.
"Judgement of Shamash is Kevin's signature weapon. It was designed specifically for him. If he takes it from you, he'll instantly become much more dangerous, strong enough to take down a Herrscher. While Kevin without the Divine Key is still extremely powerful, he's not strong enough to take down a Herrscher. (Lie)" I said.
"What weapon would I use then?" Siegfried asked.
"Can't Welt make a mimicry using his Herrscher powers?" I asked, turning to him.
Welt coughed. "While I can make a replica of the Star of Eden, I'm not familiar enough with Judgement of Shamash to create one."
"Oh right your core utilisation sucks. What if you used a mimicry Star of Eden? While his attack might not be strong enough to kill you (Lie), being a MANTIS makes him a tank, he can almost certainly survive even Judgement of Shamash. The main goal isn't to kill him, that's almost impossible, it's to stall him. The portal can only remain open for 6 minutes. Gravity is probably the best tool available." I stated.
"I've never used the Star of Eden before," Siegfried admitted.
"I don't think it's that hard? It's theoretically a gun type Divine Key, just point and pull the trigger. Just like Judgement of Shamash. The best part is if Kevin disarms you, Welt can just unsummon it."
Welt frowned, "Why not simply use your ability to remove Kevin's Honkai Energy?"
"The Imaginary Tree and the Sea of Quanta are total opposites. I can't use my abilities there, they simply don't work. (Lie)"
I didn't really feel bad about tricking Siegfried. Kevin probably wouldn't kill him, just trap him in a bubble world and try to convince him to join the World Serpent. Probably 'testing' him.
In case something went really wrong, I really could just use a Path Energy attack on Kevin and throw him back through the portal, along with Welt and Siegfried. But with no Honkai Energy and no chance of getting more right away, they would almost certainly die almost immediately, which wouldn't be ideal.
"My abilities are best used to stall any Valkyries that might be present on the real-world side of the portal, removing their ability to fight. I'll help if Kevin makes it through, but that would be a very bad situation."
"What do I do with Judgement of Shamash?" Siegfried asked.
I shrugged before saying, "Leave it on the boat? Or just leave it on the other side of the portal. Just whatever you do, don't use it to confront Kevin."
"Is your assessment of me that poor?" Siegfried asked.
"Kevin is still the strongest person from the Previous Era, even weakened by the lack of Honkai Energy," I said.
Welt finally spoke. "Lee makes good points, Siegfried. You can entrust Judgement of Shamash to her temporarily, and she'll return it afterward."
"I can't use Divine Keys anyway," I added. "Otherwise I'd join you with a mimic Star of Eden."
"You can't use Divine Keys?" Welt asked.
"No. The Herrscher core syncs directly with the user through Honkai Energy, and any Honkai Energy that enters my body gets converted to Path Energy."
The boat was silent for several minutes.
"Hey." I finally spoke up.
"What?" Siegfried responded.
"What exactly will my position be at Anti Entropy? You know, after this is all over." I asked.
"While I haven't discussed it with the others, we'd certainly welcome you as an executor. As a former S-rank Valkyrie, you deserve that much. We have several open positions after the Cocolia incident."
"Hey, how come I'm not an executor?" Siegfried asked.
"For one, you never officially joined Anti-Entropy. Also, Lee is quite skilled in management," Welt said.
Yes, officially my position, in addition to being an S-rank Valkyrie, was the co-manager of the Immortal Blades. Which was a position with almost no work at all, since Rita, who managed the day to day of the Immoral Blades while Durandal did Durandal things, was very competent at such things.
It was basically an excuse to have me tag along on some Immortal Blades missions without actually being a member of the team, and having to go on every mission.
Mostly, it was simply because Welt held such a high opinion of me. After all, after Siegfried had confronted me on one of my Honkai beast elimination missions to give me a communicator from Dr Einstein and Tesla, I had informed them about the cloning research done by Cocolia on Welt Joyce, and where exactly that research was being done. This caused their favorability to skyrocket almost instantly, in addition to some small things I had done for Anti Entropy over the last 2 years like leaking Schicksal intel on the Anti Entropy radical factions movements, the doctors and Welt felt that I was trustworthy.
Which of course, I was now totally abusing.
The rest of the boat ride was in silence, occasionally interrupted by small conversation between Welt and Siegfried.
After an hour and a half, Welt finally said, "We're approaching the coordinates now."
The wind began to die down as the boat slowed, the horizon now nothing but endless blue in every direction. Welt stood and stepped toward the bow, his scarf fluttering lightly in the sea breeze.
"Hold on," he said, raising one hand.
The faint hum resonated through the hull. A soft blue light spread from his fingertips, tracing across the metal like veins of light. Panels began to shift, sealing windows and vents as the deck plates realigned. The smooth transformation was silent except for the dull groan of pressure valves closing.
Within seconds, the boat was no longer a boat. The exterior hull darkened, reshaping into a sleek, streamlined form. A faint shimmer surrounded the vessel, as if space itself bent slightly around it.
Siegfried stared out one of the small reinforced windows that had appeared where open railing once was as water rushed around and over the vessel, "You just turned the whole thing into a submarine?"
"Modified it," Welt replied calmly, adjusting a dial that had formed out of nowhere. "This design should hold under extreme pressure. No one will notice our descent."
The hum deepened, and the vessel began to tilt forward, the water darkening fast as we slipped beneath the waves.
"Next stop," Welt said, eyes fixed on the glowing interface before him. "Eight kilometers straight down."
The ocean swallowed the last of the sunlight. All that remained were the quiet vibrations of the engines and the steady, low glow of the controls reflecting across Welt's glasses.